First Day
by welleg
Summary: Part AU/Part CSI crossover. Leo's first day as a CSI at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Written for pr au100 on LJ. Leo/Kai pre-slash.
1. Chapter 1

Kai made it a personal rule not to dip the pen in company ink, as Cath was fond of phrasing it. Sure it worked for some people – Greg and Nick have been together for five and a half years and no one cares. But in other cases it blows up spectacularly – Grissom and Sara come to mind. Though with them it was more a case of if you're going to date your boss, don't hide it from his boss. Regardless, Sara left nights and then Vegas altogether and her replacement is starting tonight. And he's making Kai rethink his workplace dating policy. CSI Level 2 Leo Corbett is one hot guy. He doesn't know much about the new CSI – just that he and Greg were college roommates and at one time a bit more than that. If Leo gets paired with Nick on a case, he may not survive his first shift. Nick generally isn't the jealous type, but the green-eyed monster does tend to appear when he's confronted with one of Greg's exes – of either gender.

"You know the sooner you ask him out, the less likely Nick is to kill him. And I prefer my friends alive." Kai jumps at the sound of the voice behind him.

"Damn it, Greg. You scared me."

"That's because you were too busy staring at Leo. Seriously Kai, you should ask him out."

"First of all, I don't know the guy. And I refuse to use you as a character witness. Aside from Nick, your taste has been questionable at best. And secondly…"

"You don't date coworkers. I know. But sometimes it does work. And I'm insulted by your comment about my exes."

"Just don't break up with Nick or you'll be doomed to be single for the rest of your life."

"Very funny, Kai." Greg sticks his tongue out at his friend as Nick sticks his head in the AV lab.

"Greg, come on. We have a case."

"On my way. And seriously Kai, ask him out." Nick sends Kai a look of apology before he and Greg head off to the crime scene. Kai buries his head in his hands – he has a feeling Greg won't back off until he does indeed ask Leo out.


	2. Chapter 2

Generally Kai doesn't mind a slow night, but he wishes he had some evidence to go over. It would help him think about something besides Leo – especially since he's the only one with nothing to do. Apparently no one was dumb enough to commit murder in clear view of a security camera.

"I have some evidence for you." The voice behind him is music to his ears until he turns and sees that Leo is the source.

"Oh, thanks. You must be Leo. I'm Kai Chen." Leo shakes the offered hand with somewhat of a wary expression.

"What has Greg been telling people about me?"

"Oh not much. Have you met Nick yet?" The look on his face answers the question before he even opens his mouth.

"Yeah. I get the impression he doesn't like me for some reason." Kai smirks at Leo's cluelessness.

"It's nothing personal. He's not fond of any of Greg's exes."

"Uh, you know about that? Did he tell everyone?"

"He only told me about you because we're good friends. Everyone knows about Nick and Greg though."

"No one cares?" For a guy that went to college just outside San Francisco, Leo acts like he's seen a lot of homophobia. Kai makes a mental note to ask Greg where else Leo has lived.

"As long as they act professionally, no one does. It doesn't really get dicey unless you're sleeping with your boss."

"Uh, I'll keep that in mind. Well, I have some more stuff I need to process. Let me know if you find something."

"Will do. It was nice to meet you, Leo."

"You too, Kai." Kai can't help but admire the view as Leo retreats from the lab. He's also puzzled as to his story – even being told his sexuality would be a non-issue Leo still seemed nervous and he doesn't think it's about Nick.


	3. Chapter 3

Leo sighs as he continues to process the victim's car. He's going to have to talk to Greg about sharing his sexuality with people, even though he assumes that Kai is the hot, single friend his former roommate and lover was telling him about.

"Well what have we here?" Leo finds what appears to be drugs under the seat. He bags it and puts it aside to take to Tox. He's about to see what else he can find, when a voice breaks him out of his reverie.

"Sorry for giving you the crap job. Need some help getting the car finished?" At first Leo was reluctant to work with Catherine since she reminded him of Kendrix and aside from his Stanford days, his past is something he'd rather forget. He soon realized the two women were nothing alike, which put him a lot at ease.

"Yeah, thanks. I think I found some drugs under the seat. I figured I'd see if I found anything else before running to Tox."

"Good thinking. Not to mention Henry looks frazzled enough to kill the next person that walks in there. Someone else can be the victim." Leo can't help but smile.

"I like the way you think, Cath."

"Thanks. It looks like Nick and Greg are on the same wavelength." Leo turns to see Nick and Greg outside Henry's lab seemingly arguing over who's going to disturb the tox tech.

"It would be in my best interest if it were Nick," Leo mutters before remembering that he wasn't alone in the garage. He reluctantly turns to face Cath and notices the recognition on her face.

"The green-eyed monster, huh? I knew you and Greg had been close, but I didn't know that close."

"Well, I don't like to advertise. Greg apparently had no problems telling Kai about it though." Cath laughs at that statement.

"That's Greg's method of attempted matchmaking. Kai's had enough bad experiences that he won't make a move without knowing a guy has at least one same-sex relationship under their belt. He doesn't want to end up as someone's experiment again."

"Greg and I are still going to have to talk about his trying to play matchmaker before I even started working here."

"Well, I won't say a thing."

"Thanks, Cath." Leo thinks for once, he's going to like his colleagues. Even if Nick does want to kill him.


	4. Chapter 4

Leo's first shift at the Las Vegas Crime Lab went surprisingly well, especially since he and Cath got an easy confession on their case. He has a feeling that she will become his confidante, since Greg has problems keeping his mouth shut.

"Sounds like you had a good first day with that slam dunk case of yours." Leo looks up from his perch in the locker room and finds himself face to face with Nick Stokes. Though it no longer appears he has any desire to kill him, something Leo is grateful for.

"We got lucky. The next one will probably be the case from hell." Leo flinches as a hand comes down on his shoulder.

"Every case is hell in its own way. The one's with kids are the worst."

"Yeah. Them and hate crimes. Any reason why you don't hate me anymore?"

"I didn't hate you – I'm just a bit insecure. Greg finally got fed up and told me to pull my head out of my ass. That and according to Mandy and Wendy you were flirting with Kai earlier."

"I wasn't flirting." Leo feels his face turning red.

"But you are interested, though."

"Well, yeah. Do Mandy and Wendy ever mind their own business?"

"Not when they think they have a chance at playing matchmaker. They're like Greg that way."

"I'm screwed, aren't I?"

"Afraid so. Though you should go for it. Since Greg didn't send you running back to women, you're the kind of guy Kai needs. The last guy he dated – his wife is pregnant."

"Damn, that's worse than the female colleague that doesn't understand what 'I'm gay' means."

"Where were you at that point in time?"

"Houston. That was my last stop before here."

"That's Texas for you. Leaving Dallas was the best thing I ever did."

"Well, yeah, you met Greg." Nick chuckles and lightheartedly punches Leo in the shoulder.

"True, but this is a great place to work. No one cares who you date as long as it doesn't affect the day-to-day workings of the lab."

"You have no idea what a relief that is for me to hear. I'm too old to keep running away every time shit hits the fan. Hell, Houston was a cakewalk compared to Chicago."

"So I've heard. Greg was worried about you when all that was going on."

"Yet he still doesn't respect my privacy."

"Man, we're talking about Greg here. He doesn't respect anyone's privacy."

"I guess you do have a point there." Leo smirks. "I think I have an idea as to how to teach him a lesson."

"I like the way you think, my friend." Hearing Nick refer to him as a friend lifts a final weight off of Leo's shoulders. He feels fairly confident he's going to be staying in Vegas for good.


End file.
